Before the June solemnity

Nine days to the Heart that was pierced for us.

The Sacred Heart novena is prayed in the nine days before the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which falls on the Friday after Corpus Christi. Many also pray it before the First Friday of any month, or at any time of need — it is one of the most trusted novenas in the Catholic world.

Prayer for Each Day

O most holy Heart of Jesus,
fountain of every blessing,
I adore You, I love You,
and with a lively sorrow for my sins
I offer You this poor heart of mine.

Make me humble, patient, pure,
and wholly obedient to Your will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You.
Protect me in the midst of danger;
comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
Your blessing on all that I do,
and the grace of a holy death.

Within Your Heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to You with humble confidence,
saying: Heart of Jesus, help me. Amen.

The Twelve Promises

Our Lord made twelve promises to St. Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart, among them: peace in their families, comfort in their afflictions, mercy for sinners, blessing on every place where an image of His Heart is exposed and honoured, and the grace of final repentance for those who receive Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays.

The Nine First Fridays

The related devotion is simple: receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, in a state of grace, with the intention of making reparation to the Sacred Heart. Many Catholics begin the practice during a Sacred Heart novena.

About This Novena

The devotion came through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun at Paray-le-Monial, in a series of revelations between 1673 and 1675. She was disbelieved for years; her Jesuit confessor, St. Claude de la Colombière, was the first to take her seriously. The devotion spread across the Catholic world within a century.